TourismOhio has selected a Columbus branding agency to develop its next marketing plan.

TourismOhio Director Mary Cusick said on the agency’s online newsletter that Columbus-based Cult Marketing LLC would take over branding and creative services work, while Cleveland’s Marcus Thomas LLC would handle media planning and ad placement.

The agency put the two-year contracts out for bid in December, looking for ways to “establish a distinctive brand for Ohio tourism” through at least three seasonal campaigns. Tourism is a $38 billion industry in Ohio, the agency said.

“I am encouraged by the level of interest we received during the selection process and am ready get down to work on identifying an emotional and head-turning brand that will take Ohio tourism to a new level,” Cusick wrote. “We have a fast-paced timeline to begin rolling out a new brand and now have the partners in place to make it happen!”

A TourismOhio spokeswoman said representatives from Cult Marketing would present initial plans for marketing the state Thursday afternoon at a meeting at Experience Columbus’ offices in the Arena District.

The marketing and branding piece is part of TourismOhio’s PlantoWin long-term strategic blueprint.

When Quantum Health Founder and CEO Kara Trott began working with healthcare clients as an attorney with Bricker & Eckler, she was amazed to realize how little the industry centered on the needs of healthcare consumers.“When I was listening to all the challenges that providers were facing during their patients’ journeys, I was like ‘Wow, who’s fixing that for the patient?’ The answer was nobody,” says Trott. Prior to joining Bricker, Trott designed and executed consumer intercept strategies for companies including Citibank, Ford, Walmart and Coke as a strategic marketing consultant and for international consulting firm RPA.“Having come from mass merchandising and retailing, the challenges that people faced in the pathway to healthcare was exactly the kind of thing we had solved in other industries,” says Trott. “I thought it was very strange in healthcare that nobody really understood or even sought to understand how the consumer experiences things.”“It’s just all grown up as an administrative solution. It’s very operationally efficient for productivity and claim processing, but that is antithetical to the caring and love that people need when they’re going through this horrible journey,” she says. Trott recognized the opportunity to do the type of meaningful work she desired. In 1999, Trott founded Quantum Health, a healthcare coordination and consumer navigation company…Click the link to view the full article.

Healthcare Trailblazer: Quantum Health

Quantum Health doesn’t operate like a traditional healthcare company. Founder and CEO Kara Trott believes that’s why the care coordination and consumer navigation company is seeing such success as a disruptor in the industry.“We have been very, very focused as a company on doing the things that actually create value for the consumer experience and that are matched up to how consumers actually experience the healthcare journey. That’s very different than (the rest of) our industry, because most of the drivers in our industry are very transactional, it’s designed for convenience of administration, financial risk management,” says Trott, a former corporate attorney and strategic marketing consultant for brands like Citibank, Ford, Walmart and Coke.After two years of research following the “healthcare journeys” of 3,200 patients and over 290 physicians, Trott launched Quantum. The patient-focused concept that is the foundation of Quantum operations was based on Trott’s application of the techniques she’d used to solve consumer challenges in merchandising and retail sectors…

CEO Doug Mcintyre: Company digs deep on customers

When Quantum Health approached Cult Marketing seeking help connecting with its clients in the health-care navigation industry, Quantum’s leadership team wondered if the idea of a guardian angel might be appropriate for a sales and marketing campaign.

Researchers at Cult went to work finding out how clients and consumers perceived the company, which provides health-care coordination services to self-funded public and private employers throughout the country.

What they uncovered surprised everyone. Health-care consumers who used the company’s services saw the Quantum employees as protectors fighting on their behalf.

Those insights shaped a marketing plan that has led to double-digit growth and created a brand story that permeates the entire business.

The success of the plan correlates to the quality of the information Cult Marketing gleaned during its research phase, said Quantum Health CEO Kara Trott…

When Quantum Health approached Cult Marketing seeking help connecting with clients in the healthcare-navigation industry, Quantum’s leadership team wondered if the concept of guardian angels might be appropriate for a sales and marketing campaign.Researchers at Cult went to work finding out how clients and consumers perceived Quantum, a company that provides healthcare coordination services to self-funded public and private sector employers throughout the country…Read the full article here.

As I look out my office window in the Arena District in Columbus, more than 15,000 women are streaming out of Nationwide Arena. They are part of the annual national convention of a company called Thirty-One Gifts.

Thirty-One Gifts is a super-fast growing direct-sales company that has achieved explosive growth – and cult brand status. It began modestly in 2003 in the basement of founder and CEO Cindy Monroe.

Cult Marketing was engaged in 2010 to develop a deep understanding of the 31 Gifts “Consultant” as they call their independent sales representatives. At that time, the company had 23,000 consultants – now they have over 120,000.

Sales are projected to reach $1 billion in 2015. So, how has 31 Gifts done it? What are their secrets? Cult Marketing’s 13 Laws of Cult Branding can shed light on some of the keys to this phenomenal growth. Here are a few that apply:

Cult Law #1:

The Point Of View: Based on a strong story/rigid ideals and beliefs, often in opposition to some other “enemy”

The company was based on one immutable goal: to empower women. Even the name Thirty-One Gifts is based on a biblical proverb that “celebrates hard-working women who are compassionate, gracious and inspiring to their families and the people around them.”

The target consultant for Thirty-One is a woman who wants to improve her life and the lives of her family, while having the flexibility to maintain her traditional family role as mom and wife.

Who is the enemy here? During our interviews, the consultants told us that Thirty-One has given them a sense of self-worth, achievement, and the pride that comes with financial contribution and business success. The Thirty-One enemy is lack of self respect, low confidence and a diminished sense of personal value.

Cult Law #3:

The Community: Strong sense of belonging within the group. Members define themselves by this association.

Founder Cindy Monroe cites that Thirty-One provides two key benefits to consultants: community and relationships. These are powerful drivers in creating strong emotional connections to an organization.

Many cult brands (think Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Walt Disney) are based on the vision, power and personality of its leader. Cindy Monroe is the highly visible founder and vision-keeper of Thirty-One. She has deflected offers from financial investors because she wants the purity of her vision to remain intact, not to be influenced by ROI and other objectives. She claims she did not do this for the money – and she and her claim are authentic and believable.

Cindy is also the front person on the website and at their events, and has almost legendary status with the consultants.

Cult Law #7:

Love Bombing: A network that is supportive, uplifting, and forgiving

Celebrate. Encourage. Reward. These are the core values that Thirty-One embraces. These three words are critical in delivering the company mission to empower women. These values have helped develop a strong culture that supports and encourages women to achieve their dreams.
During the annual convention this cult law is seen in full force. Achievements are wildly applauded, consultants are encouraged to succeed, and prizes and awards are publicly given for special recognition.

Cult Law #11:

The Buzz: Built virally, largely on word of mouth

For many years, cult brands like Starbuck’s and Harley-Davidson never advertised. They grew organically through the most credible of all marketing techniques – word of mouth. This is not surprising when you consider that cult brands create brand evangelists who are passionate about their affiliations and want to spread the word to others. Thirty-One is a perfect example of a brand that is spreading virally.
How can your company use some of the Laws of Cult Marketing to grow the business? We’d relish the opportunity to help you figure that out. Contact Cult now.

http://cultmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/31-cult-e1409580539932.jpg6602000cultmarketinghttp://cultmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/cult_marketing.pngcultmarketing2014-07-28 10:09:092014-09-04 17:31:43Thirty-One Gifts: How it became a cult brand

In every culture throughout the world, people communicate through stories or “narratives.” Join Cult Marketing’s Internationally recognized brand strategist, Jim Driscoll, PhD, and learn how Narratology-based research can drive brand and marketing strategies, consumer segmentation, brand positioning, and new product development.

You’ll learn:

How to execute an innovative process for developing breakthrough consumer and market insights

Non Members: $20
Enjoy a lunch provided by Mojo Tago – Gourmet made-from-scratch tacos.
This event is open to all professionals and students seeking a forum to network and discuss topics relevant to area marketing professionals.

About the Speaker:

Jim Driscoll is a strategy consultant specializing in marketing, branding and competitive strategy. Jim has worked in a variety of industries including consumer products, construction, high technology, financial services and the automotive after-markets, where he has advised clients on brand and marketing strategy, competitive positioning, new product development, and brand portfolio management. Jim’s passion lies in combining qualitative and quantitative expertise that helps to inform actionable strategies to grow brands and businesses.
Jim has led a series of major initiatives for many clients including a global brand equity study in Europe, Asia, and the America’s for Honeywell, Grace Ice and Water Shield, Uvex, Sperian Fire, Mobil Motor Oil, Pounce Cat Treats, and Masco among others. Over the last five years he has served as a major advisor to Sperian Protection, the world’s largest manufacturer of industrial safety equipment. In 2005, Jim served as a primary advisor to DelMonte foods and was responsible for the strategic recommendation to double the size of the business by purchasing both the Meow Mix and Milkbone biscuit brands. DelMonte executed the proposed strategy and completed these transactions in 2006 for an estimated $1.3 billion.
Jim received his B.A. from Stanford University, where he graduated valedictorian of his class. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He began his consulting career at Braxton Associates, the strategy consulting division of Deloitte and Touche. At Braxton Jim worked on a number of major brands including Heinz ketchup and Dial soap and on international marketing strategy projects for Citibank and Aetna. In 1990 he was one of five expatriates to launch the Russian practice of Deloitte and Touche. He is currently one of 30 “Higher Order of Excellence” professors at Northwestern University where he researches the cultural history of market societies.

It’s the time of the year to reflect and give thanks for all the good things that happened during the year. We decided not to do that. Rather, we thought it would be way more fun to commemorate history and hold our first annual Cult Turkey Shoot.

Someone got the bright idea to dress up like pilgrims to get in the spirit of shooting turkeys. Some people wear camouflage when hunting turkeys, but we have a soft spot for the garb preferred by our forefathers.

We also wanted a way to shoot turkeys to make it challenging and visually interesting, as we were going to capture this important day on film. So, our in-house engineer and artisan Kyle built a giant sling shot to launch turkeys into the air after capture. This would both look cool and give us the opportunity to demonstrate our shooting skills – or lack thereof.

No turkey shoot would be complete without guns, so we had our friends at AimHi Shooting Range bring their favorite shot guns and 3 inch magnum shells. During the warm-up, CEO Doug McIntyre was overheard saying, “There is nothing like the smell of gunpowder in the afternoon…it smells like victory.”

As the day progressed, the Cult team fearlessly challenged the vicious Orient, Ohio wild turkeys. The turkey call was played beautifully to lure the beasts into range, much like the sirens luring ships onto the rocks. We mastered the various turkey calls: gobbles, clucks, putts, purrs, yelps, cutts, cackles and kee-kees.

While the calls may not have produced a plethora of turkeys, we made due with a species native to the area. We stalked the available turkeys and blasted them as they attempted to run away.

A high powered sniper rifle was brought in to deal with the turkeys playing hard to get and instantly regretted trying to be coy. As you can see from the images, the turkeys were no match for the fierce Cult Pilgrims. The Cult team took it to the turkeys and carried the day.

http://cultmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/TurkeyShoot.png332590cultmarketinghttp://cultmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/cult_marketing.pngcultmarketing2011-11-23 19:53:532014-09-04 17:58:21There's Nothing Like the Smell of Gunpowder in the Afternoon...

The makers of Tylenol recalled millions of bottles right away, airing alerts warning people not to take the capsules and setting up a hotline, said Doug McIntyre, chief executive of Cult Marketing. Read More >>